This is the only issue of this crossover that lacks the Zero Hour logo on it. I didn’t know–and wouldn’t know–of its connection without whatever checklist I used a couple years ago to finally track down the entirety of this event. While I don’t have or remember context of issues of this series surrounding this particular issue…reading it shows clearly that it fits, and does so better than at least a couple other issues that DID carry the Zero Hour banner.

We open on a scene of Steel in Metropolis interacting with Superman…the latter essentially offering John Henry a “job” in Metropolis, asking if he’d want to stick around. Getting back to Washington (as in “, DC; not the State), Steel slips back into personal mode and interacts with family, which apparently includes at least one foster kid in the extended group, who has recently been the victim of gun violence. We also see a couple of villains interacting, pulling some strings and basically serving as villains themselves while also manipulating/using others. While Steel has to fight, his family is “at the park” where they encounter someone separated from his class group on their Senior Trip. When he gets caught up in the fight–“saving” Steel “right on schedule,” we learn that this was a time-displaced John Henry himself. The “main villains” also prepare to step up plans, and that doesn’t bode well for Steel for coming issues.

Two things particularly stood out to me for this issue…firstly, it felt like Steel and Superman had never interacted before…something about their exchange seemed like typical superhero-chatter between characters making nice/playing nice that hadn’t met before or fought side-by-side before. Given Steel’s very origin, and the events of Reign of the Supermen, I’d’ve expected the dialogue to have a slightly different feel to it. But then, I’m much more sensitive to nitpickiness on the Superman side of things, especially like this, than I am many other things. The second thing that stood out was a bit more “fun”–I noticed John’s wearing a shirt in part of the issue that says “Body by Bog.” It’s “just” a shirt, nothing special…except I recognize it as a reference to Steel’s co-creator Jon Bogdanove (Simonson, writing this issue, being the other co-creator).

Story-wise I liked this issue. I know little bits here and there of Steel’s time “away” from the Super-books (particularly while he had his own series here, before he got folded back into the supporting cast OF the Super-books after his series ended) but overall it’s new territory for me, particularly in the actual details. I could follow along pretty well overall with context and picked up where the title’s apparently just coming off the Worlds Collide thing (a DC/Milestone crossover back when there was no other shared continuity with the Milestone characters). I like the family elements with Steel, seeing that he has a family, and cares about them…they’re not throw-away characters. However, I did get a slight sense of ’80s “After School Special” with this…I can’t entirely put my finger on it.

Visually, I wasn’t blown away…but I really enjoyed that this FELT LIKE a comic book. It looks and comes off as a ’90s superhero comic with the ultra-strong but extremely maneuverable armor, huge cape, etc. and worked well for the story. I doubt I could look at random art and say “that’s Chris Batista‘s art!” without the credit, but that’s as much good as it is neutral: the art does not stand out in a negative sense, so just fits the title and story, gets everything across, and I’m happy with it.

Perhaps the only thing that might disqualify this, really, from being a Zero Hour tie-in is that Steel thinks “right on schedule” at one point as the “young John Henry” gets involved…suggesting that John REMEMBERS this from his own youth…so this is truly his younger self from the current timeline or such, and not some random anomaly from an alternate timeline. I do not know if this is picked up in later issues or plays out with anything, or what, but I’m glad to count this as part of this reading project!

Obviously in lacking the banner, there’s nothing by the cover to suggest it’s worth picking up as a Zero Hour reader…but it’s not a bad issue. As it is not officially part of the crossover, and thus LOOKS just like it’s “just another issue,” it’s nothing essential…but I enjoyed it.

If you like the character, it’s certainly an issue to get along with the rest of the run; but outside of Zero Hour or that, it’s essentially mid-story stuff, and there doesnt’ seem to me to be anything to make this stand out–in and of itself–as any “key issue” to specifically seek out.